Mario didn't actually start in his own series. He was just "Jumpman" in a construction site, dodging barrels thrown by a giant ape. But when Nintendo decided to move that action to the Mushroom Kingdom in 1985, they didn't just make a game. They built a blueprint for every platformer that followed. Honestly, if you look at all the Super Mario Bros games released over the last four decades, you aren't just looking at a list of software; you're looking at the evolution of how humans interact with digital space.
It's a weird legacy. One minute you're a pixelated sprite on the NES, and the next you're a high-definition 3D model wearing a sentient hat that lets you possess a T-Rex.
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People think they know Mario. They think it's just jumping on turtles. It's way more chaotic than that. From the glitchy "Minus World" in the original 1985 classic to the psychedelic elephant transformations in the recent Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the series has constantly subverted its own rules.
The 2D Origins That Changed Everything
The first Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is the reason the video game industry survived the 1983 crash. It's that simple. Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka designed World 1-1 to be a silent tutor. You see a Goomba. You die. You learn. There were no hand-holding tutorials back then.
Then came the sequels, and things got experimental. Super Mario Bros. 2—the Western version, anyway—wasn't even a Mario game at first. It was a reskin of a Japanese game called Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. That’s why you’re pulling radishes out of the ground and fighting a pink egg-spitting dinosaur named Birdo instead of stomping Koopas. It felt "off," but it gave us playable Princess Peach and Toad, which changed the dynamic forever.
Super Mario Bros. 3 is where the "all the Super Mario Bros games" conversation usually gets heated. Many purists argue it’s the best one. It introduced the world map, the Tanooki suit, and those annoying Koopalings. It pushed the NES hardware so hard that it barely felt like an 8-bit game anymore.
By the time the Super Nintendo arrived, Super Mario World refined the formula. It gave us Yoshi. It gave us Cape Mario. It gave us a sprawling, interconnected map with secret exits that people are still discovering today through ROM hacks and speedruns.
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When Mario Went 3D and Nobody Knew What to Do
In 1996, the world shifted. Super Mario 64 wasn't just a game; it was a technical miracle. Before this, 3D movement in games was clunky and tank-like. Mario’s triple jump, backflip, and wall kick felt fluid.
But it wasn't all smooth sailing. Super Mario Sunshine on the GameCube is the black sheep. People hated the FLUDD water pack. They hated cleaning up graffiti. Looking back, though, its tropical setting and high difficulty curve make it one of the most unique entries in the franchise. It’s janky, sure. But it has personality.
Then Nintendo went to space. Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel on the Wii are often cited by critics like those at IGN or Edge as near-perfect experiences. They played with gravity in a way that literally made some players motion sick, but the sheer creativity of running around tiny planetoids was unmatched.
- Super Mario 64: The pioneer of the 360-degree camera.
- Super Mario Sunshine: Weird, sunny, and incredibly frustrating.
- Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2: Pure orchestral bliss and gravity-defying puzzles.
- Super Mario 3D Land/World: A bridge between the 2D and 3D styles.
The Modern Era and the Weirdness of Wonder
After a long period of "New Super Mario Bros." games that—let’s be honest—started to look a bit generic and corporate, Nintendo finally got weird again. Super Mario Odyssey on the Switch was a return to the "sandbox" style of 64 and Sunshine. Cappy, the hat, allowed Mario to become a Goomba, a Bullet Bill, or a taxi. It was a celebration of Mario’s history, culminating in that incredible New Donk City festival sequence.
But all the Super Mario Bros games aren't just about 3D. The 2D roots came back with a vengeance in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. This game is essentially Nintendo’s developers saying, "What if we did drugs?" The Wonder Flowers change the entire level—pipes crawl like worms, the perspective shifts, or Mario turns into a spiked ball. It’s the most "human" the series has felt in years because it feels like it was made by people who were genuinely having fun, not just filling a quarterly earnings report.
The Forgotten and the Obscure
We can't talk about the whole library without mentioning the stuff that falls through the cracks. Did you know there was a Super Mario Bros. Special made by Hudson Soft for Japanese computers like the PC-8801? It’s terrible. It’s slow, the screen doesn't scroll smoothly, and it’s basically a fever dream.
Then there’s Super Mario Run on mobile. It was Nintendo's attempt to simplify Mario to a single tap. It’s actually quite good, but the "always-online" requirement and the $10 price tag turned off a lot of mobile gamers used to "free-to-play" traps.
And Super Mario Maker. It’s technically a game, but it’s more of a tool. It turned the players into the developers. It created a subculture of "Kaizo" players who make levels so difficult they require frame-perfect inputs to survive. It’s a testament to the physics of the original games that they can be pushed that far without breaking.
Understanding the Timeline and the Tech
Nintendo doesn't really do "official timelines" like Zelda fans want them to. Mario is more like a troupe of actors. One day they're saving a kingdom, the next they're kart racing or playing tennis with the villain who just kidnapped the Princess.
Technically, the games are a masterclass in optimization. Super Mario Bros. on the NES was 31 kilobytes. 31. Your average smartphone photo is 100 times larger than that. They used clever tricks, like making the clouds and the bushes the same sprite just colored differently, to save space.
When they moved to the Switch, the focus shifted to "visual juice." In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Mario’s hat stays behind for a split second when he enters a pipe, and he reaches back to grab it. It's those tiny, unnecessary details that make these games stand out from the thousands of imitators on Steam.
Making Sense of the Collection
If you're looking to dive into all the Super Mario Bros games, you shouldn't just start at the beginning and work forward. You’ll burn out on the 8-bit difficulty.
Start with Super Mario World. It’s the perfect balance of challenge and charm. Then, jump into Super Mario Odyssey to see what modern tech can do. If you want a challenge, go back to the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 (known as The Lost Levels). It’s basically a ROM hack made by Nintendo to punish players who thought the first game was too easy.
Actionable Insights for the Aspiring Completionist
Tracking down every title isn't easy because Nintendo likes to lock things in "the vault." However, if you want to experience the breadth of the series today, here is the most efficient path:
- Get Nintendo Switch Online: This gives you the NES, SNES, and Game Boy versions of the classics. You can play Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, Super Mario World, and Land without hunting for expensive cartridges.
- Find a copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars: It was a limited release, but physical copies are still floating around. It’s the only way to play 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy on a modern console easily.
- Play Wonder with Friends: Unlike previous entries, the multiplayer in Wonder isn't as "collision-heavy," meaning you won't accidentally bump your friends into lava as much. It’s the best "couch co-op" experience in the series.
- Study Level Design: If you’re a creator, use Super Mario Maker 2 to understand the "Kishōtenketsu" design philosophy Nintendo uses—Introduction, Development, Twist, and Conclusion.
The reality is that Mario persists because the "jump" feels good. Whether it's 1985 or 2026, the physics of a Mario jump are the gold standard. It’s weighted, predictable, yet flexible. Everything else—the power-ups, the music by Koji Kondo, the vibrant worlds—is just the icing on the cake. Mario isn't just a character; he's the yardstick by which all other games are measured. If a developer can't get the "move and jump" part right, all the 4K graphics in the world won't save them. Nintendo figured that out in a garage-sized office in Kyoto decades ago, and they haven't forgotten it since.
Next Steps for Players: Check your Nintendo Switch Online library first; many of the 8-bit and 16-bit titles are included in the base subscription. For those interested in the competitive side, look up the "GDQ" (Games Done Quick) archives to see how high-level players exploit the physics of these games in ways the original developers never intended.